An Appetite Not For Sandwiches
by JT4Life
Summary: Rodney begins to realize that he has feelings fora certain special someone.: *Disclaimer- Stargate belongs to MGM, not to me*


_A/N: This is my first McKeller fic ) Feedback is really appreciated- I'd love to know what you guys think!_

_Enjoy ;)_

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It's a quiet evening on Atlantis. A few base personnel are going about their last few tasks before heading to bed. There is an air of relaxation that can be felt everywhere, a feeling that hasn't been felt by anyone for quite some time. The fact that the last week had gone by and that the base had remained peacefully uneventful is a rare luxury that doesn't often come along. The faces of the few who are still awake at this late hour display exhaustion, but the good kind of exhaustion that only comes from a good day's work. The kind where things get accomplished with ease, instead of the usual two steps forward, three steps back scenario that seems to rule the lives of the people on Atlantis on a daily basis. Overall, the atmosphere on the base is one of thorough contentment. All except for the bubble that Rodney McKay lives in.

Rodney sat alone in the dining hall with his head resting on his open palms, his elbows propped up on the table, starring at an uneaten turkey and ham on rye sandwich in front of him. He wasn't the least bit hungry, which was odd considering that he had skipped lunch that day.

That had never happened before. Ever.

As Rodney sat there, starring at his untouched sandwich, he mulled over why he wasn't hungry. He thought back. He'd always been a good eater. Even when he was a kid, he'd help himself to thirds and sometimes fourths of every meal. He still ate a lot on Atlantis. The only thing that had changed since when he'd first stepped through the gate was probably that he'd been eating even more than usual due to the constant stress, which Rodney believed made him burn more calories than usual.

Right now, there was basically no stress... was that why he wasn't feeling hungry? McKay groaned and slumped lower in his chair. Nope, that was definitely not it. He could just tell that it was something more than stress that was affecting his appetite. Something more important. Something he felt like he ought to know about.

"C'mon, genius, you should know this!" he snapped, out loud, at himself. "Of course, the moment we're out of immediate danger, you become in danger of starvation due to a sudden lack of appetite. What gives?!"

Rodney eyed the sandwich. It was taunting him, just sitting there like that. He knew that the matter would drive him crazy until he understood it, or like one of his brilliant ideas, just popped up out of nowhere-

"Hey!" a voice called behind him.

Rodney's head snapped up and he glanced over his shoulder, afraid to see who had been watching him. If it was Sheppard, the man would never cease to mock Rodney about talking to himself yet again...

Instead, a tired but smiling Dr. Keller walked up behind him and pulled out a chair to sit down at the table beside him.

"Isn't it past your bedtime by now?" she asked and gave a little giggle at her own joke. Rodney stared at her. He'd never heard her giggle before. "Uhh... McKay?" Jen waved her hand in front of his face and he snapped out of it.

"Yeah, sorry, umm... what?"

"I just poked fun at you and you didn't even notice."

Rodney blinked and looked away, embarrassed, but not because she'd just made fun of him. "Oh... um, ok." He glanced back at Jen and saw that she was looking at him, one hand casually being used to prop up her head and that she was trying hard not to crack up completely and all together lose it.

"Man," she grinned, shaking her head, "if this is what a few relaxing, peaceful days do to you then I don't wanna see what happens when you're at home doing absolutely nothing!" Jen said as she absent mindedly picked at an old coffee spot on the table.

Rodney simply nodded without realizing that he'd just agreed with her statement that he was a total looser. He wasn't paying attention to what Jennifer said, just how pretty she looked, even though she was clearly exhausted. He'd always thought she was pretty, but seeing her sitting there all relaxed and clearly in a good mood, McKay thought she looked all the more beautiful.

They sat in silence for a while. Rodney felt extremely awkward, but obviously Jen didn't. She just sat there, beside him, staring out into space, lost in her own thoughts. _Ok, now you can't let her know that this is awkward for you_, he told himself firmly. _Just don't screw this up. You're actually having a conversation with her. Just a casual talk between friends. So don't blow it._

"Would you like some of my sandwich?" Rodney blurted out, perhaps a little too loudly, for Jennifer looked startled, though she tried to hide it for Rodney's sake.

Jen raised her eyebrows and glanced at the sandwich. The meat should have been eaten right away after coming out of the refrigerator, but instead Rodney had sat looking at it for... too long.

Very politely, she shook her head. "Oh, thanks, Rodney, but I'm good. You're not going to eat it? I thought you always had a late-night snack before bed."

"You see, I usually do, but I seem to have lost my appetite and that's not something that happens often with me- but you already know that of course, you're my doctor and I've known you for quite some time now but pretty much everyone knows about my appetite so-,"

Jen laid her hand on his arm to stop him. "It's ok, Rodney, you don't have to go explaining everything to me in one breath," she said with a small, slightly amused, but also very kind smile.

The feel of her hand on top of his wrist made Rodney suck in his breath very quickly. After a few seconds, he could feel his face turning bright red. Jennifer's hand was still on his arm. She rose and eyebrow at him. "Seriously, McKay, are you feeling alright?"

"Yep, peachy," he replied quickly, now feeling slightly light-headed. The only time a girl had ever held his hand (or wrist) this long was when his sister tried to drag him out of the house to go tobogganing down the steep driveway when he was ten.

_Way to make it awkward_, he told himself. _Way to go, tiger._ Rodney didn't know how much longer they sat together, Jen's hand still resting on his arm. Finally, Jennifer gave him another smile, gave his hand a quick pat-pat and stood up.

"It's past my bedtime too now. We should both get some sleep, ok?"

"Yeah, ok... will do," he mumbled as he stood up as well, trying to act casual when all he could do was stare at her, and admire the way that a few loose strands of hair would gently caress her face, framing it beautifully.

"I'm your friend, McKay, but I'm also your doctor. Now go get some rest. Doctor's orders." And she gave him another one of her brilliant smiles as she walked past him, her shoulder brushing up against his as she squeezed between him and the next table, and out into the hall, leaving Rodney standing there in her wake, utterly stunned.

_Nice_, he told himself,_ you didn't totally screw that one up. Congrats._ Rodney smiled, picked up his sandwich, and walked off to bed with the sound of her giggle ringing in his ears.

The End

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_Hope y'all liked it!_


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